2G case: Shahid Balwa, RK Chandolia seek bail

Buoyed by grant of bail to five corporate executives by the Supreme Court in 2G spectrum case, Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Balwa and ex-Telecom Minister A Raja's former Private Secretary RK Chandolia have moved bail pleas before a Delhi court on the ground of parity.

Special CBI Judge OP Saini will hear the arguments on the separate bail pleas of both the accused on November 27.

Both the accused have moved the application on the ground that after framing of charges, the trial in the case is expected to take considerable time and they should be granted bail as they are similarly placed with the co-accused who were released on bail by the apex court, their counsel Vijay Aggarwal said.

"We have moved bail pleas for RK Chandolia and Shahid Balwa. The Supreme Court has already granted bail to five accused and as the trial is expected to take a long time, we have sought bail on the ground of parity," Aggarwal said.

The apex court had granted bail to Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom's Director Vinod Goenka and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group's executives Hari Nair, Gautam Doshi and Surendra Pipara.

The bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura and four others are pending before the Delhi High Court.

Raja is the only one among the 14 accused persons who has not yet approached any court for grant of bail since his arrest on February 2 this year.